Abolishing the Death Penalty

1. Abolishing the Death Penalty By: Sarah Salazar English 1301

2. Death Penalty In history, “civilians” would get a thrilled feeling while watching another human being hanging by a noose, kicking and swinging, just grasping for air. This person was being punished for criminal activity.

3. History of the Death penalty Britain had the greatest influence on America’s use of the death penalty. The first recorded execution in the new colonies was of Captain George Kendall in Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was accused of being a spy for Spain (Death Penalty Information Center). Forms of execution include death by lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, and firing squad. Laws pertaining to the death penalty vary from country to country.

4. The sound you have just heard is that of electric voltages. The Death Penalty has been a part of the American legal system for centuries; abolishing the death penalty would be a huge step in our penal system, and the question of cruel and unusual punishment would not be brought into question.

5. a FEW REASONS TO CONSIDER THE Death penalty • It is believed that by instilling these harsh punishments in the legal system, people would not dare to attempt murder easily. • individuals believe that justice is better served; since life is so precious, the punishment for taking somebody's life is paying the price with your own life. • safety concerns: Prisoner parole or escapes can give criminals another chance to kill, leaving the victim's family living a life of fear.

6. Why, you ask should we abolish the Death Penalty??? • factors such as inadequate legal representations, police and prosecutor misconduct, racial prejudice and misinterpretation of evidence can work against an innocent person and lead to a harsh death penalty. • It is more expensive to execute than keeping the same criminal in prison for life

7. Why abolish the death penalty? Cont. • Some people believe that execution does not accomplish anything. The family of a victim may want to see the murdered punished but overall it doesn’t bring a life back or ease the pain of a lost loved one.

8. Well, since your asking me… I am in favor of abolishing the death penalty from our penal system because I see no civilization in taking another human being’s life away. My moral for going against the death penalty is strongly based on the belief that only God can judge and that only he should determine when someone’s life should come to an end.

9. Cont… It is difficult for me to see the justice in killing a convict, which is still a human being, for killing another human being; it’s immoral. I have taken into consideration what it may feel like to be in the shoes of the victim’s family. Regardless of the circumstances taking one’s life will not bring back the deceased.

10. Facts to be taken into consideration! • Since 1973, more than 130 people have been released from death rows throughout the US (Johnson, 2010). • The cost of the death penalty is another major argument made against capital punishment. Most of us fail to realize that executing a death sentence is 2.5 times more expensive than keeping the same criminal in prison for life (Johnson, 2010).

11. So maybe I convinced you • organizations, such as the Amnesty International(Amnesty International USA). • Offers online action center

12. References • Amnesty International USA (n.d). Amnesty internal mission. Retrieved from http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-mission-and-the-movement/page.do?id=1101178 • Death Penalty Information Center (n.d). Introduction to the death penalty. Retrieved fromhttp://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/getcat.php?cid=5 • Johnson, P. (2010, Feb. 13). Death penalty pros and cons. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/death-penalty-pros-and-cons.html